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SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM) investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.

To the average investor, there are plenty of methods shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can beat the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action surrounding SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM).

How are hedge funds trading SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 32 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 3% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Highfields Capital Management, managed by Jonathon Jacobson, holds the largest position in SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM). Highfields Capital Management has a $679 million position in the stock, comprising 7.5% of its 13F portfolio. On Highfields Capital Management’s heels is Omega Advisors, managed by Leon Cooperman, which held a $266 million position; the fund has 4.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include David Abrams’s Abrams Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Bronson Point Partners, managed by Larry Foley and Paul Farrell, assembled the most valuable position in SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM). Bronson Point Partners had 6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also made a $5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital, Joe DiMenna’s ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

What have insiders been doing with SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM)?

Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by our studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM) is no exception.